Halliwell s _Nursery Rhymes_. Halliwell s _Dictionary_, ed. 1889. Holloway s _Dictionary_, ed. 1838. Strutt s _Sports and Pastimes_, ed. 1831. Brand s _Popular Antiquities_, ed. 1875. Nares _Glossary_, ed.
If he who holds the Gegg gets in the den, the Outs are winners, and have the privilege of getting out again. The Outs, before leaving the den, shuffle the Gegg, or smuggle it so between each other that the Ins do not know which person has it. He who is laid hold of, and put to the question, is supposed to deny that he has the Gegg: if he escapes with it, he gets out again.--Jamieson. Genteel Lady A player begins thus:-- I, a genteel lady (or gentleman) came from that genteel lady (or gentleman) to say that she (or he) owned a tree. The other players repeat the words in turn, and then the leader goes over them again, adding, with bronze bark. The sentence goes round once more, and on the next repetition the leader continues, with golden branches. He afterwards adds, and silver leaves, and purple fruit, and on the top a milk-white dove, and, finally, mourning for the loss of his lady-love. If a player should fail in repeating the rigmarole, there is a fine to pay. A pipe-lighter is stuck in her hair, and she must say one-horned lady instead of genteel lady.
1). It is called Merrils. --Sheffield (S. O. Addy). Cotgrave s _Dictionarie_, 1632, says: _Merelles_, le jeu de merelles, the boyish game called merrils, or fiue-pennie morris. Played here most commonly with stones, but in France with pawns or men made of purpose, and termed merelles. Strutt (_Sports_, p. 317) says: This was why the game received this name. It was formerly called Nine Men s Morris and Five-penny Morris, and is a game of some antiquity.
You called TK on the table. Smythe shrugged and took off his glasses. I thought I felt you tipping when you first came to the layout, he said, waving them around. I nodded confirmation. But it was smooth work, and I could hardly be sure. Most of these maverick TK s strong-arm the dice, and they skid across the layout with their spots up. You re way ahead of that--you don t touch them till the final few tumbles. And then, you were losing, and I couldn t see that the table was being hit. I thought it was the smart move. I explained.
Henry VIII., f. 91. Buckey-how For this the boys divide into sides. One stops at home, the other goes off to a certain distance agreed on beforehand and shouts Buckey-how. The boys at home then give chase, and when they succeed in catching an adversary, they bring him home, and there he stays until all on his side are caught, when they in turn become the chasers.--Cornwall (_Folk-lore Journal_, v. 60). Buff 1st player, thumping the floor with a stick: Knock, knock! 2nd ditto: Who s there? 1st: Buff. 2nd: What says Buff? 1st: Buff says Buff to all his men, And I say Buff to you again! 2nd: Methinks Buff smiles? 1st: Buff neither laughs nor smiles, But looks in your face With a comical grace, And delivers the staff to you again (handing it over).
_=REVOKES.=_ If a player opposed to the caller revokes, but discovers his mistake in time to save himself, he may be called upon by the single player for his highest or lowest of the suit led; or the card played in error may be claimed as an exposed card. If the highest or lowest of the suit is called, the card played in error is taken up. If the caller revokes, and discovers his mistake in time, he is not liable to any penalty, unless an adversary has played to the next trick. In that case the revoking card must be left on the table, and is liable to be called. When the single player revokes, he loses the call in any case, and at least one trick besides. He must also double the pool, and add to it a revoke forfeit of four red counters. For instance: A bids eight tricks, and his adversaries detect and claim a revoke. As he is supposed to have lost his bid, and one trick more, he may be said to have bid eight, and taken only seven; losing 23 white counters to each of his adversaries, doubling the pool, and then paying a forfeit of four red counters. In some places the forfeit is omitted, and in others it takes the place of doubling the pool.
=_ Three games, 30 points or more each, make a rubber, but if the first two are won by the same partners the third game is not played. The side that first wins two games adds 250 rubber points to its score. _=SCORING.=_ Apart from the game score, which is made entirely by tricks won on successful declarations, there are several additional scores that have no influence in winning or losing the game, although they may materially affect the ultimate value of the rubber. These are all entered under the head of “honour scores,” or “above the line.” _=Honours=_ are the five highest cards in the trump suit, A K Q J 10; when there is no trump, they are the four Aces. The partners holding three, four or five honours between them, or four honours in one hand, or four in one hand and the fifth in the partner’s, or all five in one hand, are entitled to claim and score them, according to the following table. It will be seen that their value varies according to the trump suit; and it must be remembered that this value cannot be increased by doubling. TABLE OF HONOUR VALUES. Royal spades are indicated by “R.